The Towers of Babylon

"Does the trumpet sound in the city without the populace becoming alarmed?
Does misfortune come to a city if God has not sent it? "
Amos 3:6-7
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"If the Lord does not build the house, in vain the masons toil; If God does not guard the city, in vain the sentry's watch." (Ps.127:1).

Not since the birth of Jesus has such a spectacular fulfillment of ancient visions been seen on earth. Over the last 60 years a sequence of prophecies have unfolded so astonishing they have stunned even the most staid Bible scholars.

Witness the re-establishment of an Israeli state which ended almost 2000 years of exile for Jewish citizens;
2., the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem, a sure sign of the end of the world;
3., the holocaust of the Jews in World War II that manifested a taste of the tribulation forecast by Jesus;
4., the flame of the stars falling from the sky in a huge ball of fire onto the earth, and
5., the appearance of the seventh head of the beast (Adolph Hitler) who murdered almost ten million members of the House of Israel, amplifing beyond any past mold, an image of Satan in man.

Scores of prophecies like these have cascaded out of the Bible into historic reality over the last century. The complete list is prodigious. A great many of them have been chronicled analytically in the books and papers on this web site.

They continue to unfold.

Any one of these events might be argued away, but taken collectively in such density they stand as blaring testimony to the times we find ourselves in today. The world, indeed stands now on the threshold of its end.

The event of September 11th, 2001, gargantuan by any standard, must take its place in this unfolding sequence. Like the Jewish holocaust, its sheer size and scope is too large for metaphor. The burning of New York was a fulcrum that dramatically and permanently changed western civilization, altering world history forever. That city's fire commissioner called it "the greatest tragedy that has ever hit any city anywhere, any time."

A seminal event and heavily documented in scripture, it fits the time-line predicted for its occurrance too closely to be ignored, for it matches with precision the size and details of the visions which foresaw it.

The attack this September was the signal all Christians since the beginning of the religion have been waiting with great expectation to see. God's judgment of Babylon.

Exactly nine months into the third day (Ex.19:10)), the handwriting of the Lord etched itself on the walls of the city (Dn.5:5), incarnating scripture in stunning images that left the whole world (who watched in horror) transfixed by its unfolding message.

Graphically, it brought to sight a far deeper understanding of the mysterious prophecies which proclaimed an end to the millenium of reconciliation, and the beginning of the eastern world's vengeance against Babylon. It was the moment when spiritual words became physical: "I will light a fire inside her towns; it shall devour all her surroundings." (Jer. 50:32). In a single day Babylon will be burned up. The handwriting is now on the wall, and we are that wall, the military force that guards the western world.

"Look at the land of Kittim...they have set up towers." (Is.23:13-14)

On every high mountain and upon every high hill, there will be streams and watercourses, on the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall" (Is.30:25)

"Trust in God forever for the Lord is the everlasting Rock; he has brought low those who lived high up in the steep citadel; he brings it down, brings it down to the ground, flings it down in the dust; the feet of the lowly, the footsteps of the poor trample on it." (Is.28:4-6).

"They will destroy the walls of Tyre, they will demolish her towers; I will sweep away her dust and leave her a naked rock." (Ez.26:3-4).

"Your wealth will be seized, your merchandise looted, your walls razed, your luxurious houses shattered, your stones, your timbers, your very dust, thrown into the sea. I will stop your music and songs...I will reduce you to a naked rock..." (Ez.26:12-14).

"Take up your positions around Babylon...Shout against her on every side! She surrenders, her towers fall, her walls are torn down since this is the vengeance of the Lord..." (Jer.50:15).

"Were Babylon to scale the heavens, or reinforce her towering citadel, destroyers would still fall on her at my command, it is God who speaks." (Jer.51:53)..

"I am queen on my throne, she says to herself, and I am no widow and shall never be in mourning. For that, within a single day, the plagues will fall on her: disease and mourning and famine. She will be burnt right up. The Lord God has condemned her, and he has great power." (Rev.18:7-8).

"There will be mourning and weeping for her by the kings of the earth who have fornicated with her and lived with her in luxury. They see the smoke as she burns, while they keep at a safe distance from fear of her agony. (Rev.18:9).

"They will say: 'Mourn, mourn for this great city, Babylon, so powerful a city, dimmed as you are within a single hour'. (Rev.18:10)

'All the fruits you had set your hearts on have failed you; gone forever, never to return, is your life of magnificence and ease.' (Rev.18:14).

"The traders who had made a fortune out of her will be standing at a safe distance from fear of her agony, mourning and weeping. ·They will be saying: 'Mourn, mourn for this great city; for all the linen and purple and scarlet that you wore, for all your finery of gold and jewels and pearls; your riches are all destroyed within a single hour'. (Rev.18:15-17).

"All the captains and seafaring men, sailors and all those who make a living from the sea will be keeping a safe distance, ·watching the smoke as she burns, and crying out, 'Has there ever been a city as great as this!' (Rev.18:17-18).

"They will throw dust on their heads and say, with tears and groans: 'Mourn, mourn for this great city whose lavish living has made a fortune for every owner of a seagoing ship; ruined within a single hour. (Rev.18:19).

"The Lord God says this: The wide ramparts of Babylon will be razed to the ground, and her high gates will be burnt down. Thus the laboring of the peoples comes to nothing, the toiling of the nations ends in fire." (Jer.51:58).

The body of scripture predicting September 11th is vast. This paper will explore many of those predictions and examine some of the more important circumstances that surround each one of them.

THE THIRD DAY
The timing of the tower attack coincides with the inauguration of scripture's "third day". It is written in the Book of Exodus,

"The Lord said to Moses, 'Go to the people and tell them to prepare themselves today and tomorrow. Let them wash their clothing and hold themselves in readiness for the third day, because on the third day, the Lord will descend on the mountains of Sinai in the sight of all the people." -Ex.19:10)

The Psalm of David tells us that a day to God is like a thousand years to man. Peter wrote,

"But there is one thing my friends, that you must never forget: that with the Lord, 'a day' can mean a thousand years, and a thousand years is like a day." (2 Peter 3:8; Ps.90:4). Days in scripture have always been measured in prophecy by this code.

That means the order to wash and clean for two days and on the third day, see God face to face, covers an era more than 2000 years in length. It marks the duration of the Christian era. The washing and cleaning foretells baptism and repentance while the 'third day' foretells the Second Coming of Christ. Those days began with the calendar birth of Jesus, January 1st, 1 A.D.

The third day began January 1, 2001.

Just nine months later, (the gestation period of a human embryo), on September 11, 2001, the city was attacked, the towers fell and a part of Babylon burned. The handwriting was on the wall. The sign showed the return of Christ was imminent. The kings of the East had begun their attack.

In the flaming wreckage of New York City, the ages changed.


THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
The Day of God is called the 'Day of Atonement'. In keeping with the code of scripture, this day is measured in terms of a thousand years, and so is called the "millenium". It is the millenium of Christ ­ the length of time His word has shined among men, bringing the light of God into their hearts with the offer of His divine reconciliation.

The thousand-year millenium (the millenium of His Word preached on earth) has lasted for almost 2000 years. This was foretold. A prophecy in the Book of Joshua revealed that God would stop the "Son" in the sky for almost a whole day, making one day into almost two.

"Is this not written in the Book of the Just? The sun stood still in the middle of the sky and delayed its setting for almost a whole day (making one day into two). There was never a day like that before or since, when God obeyed the voice of a man, for God was fighting for Israel." (Joshua 10:12-14).

This two-thousand year "millenium" is the period of "washing and cleaning" defined by Moses. It symbolizes the rebuilding of the spiritual ruins of Jerusalem. It was for that purpose that Christ was sent to this earth. During this period, the Book of Revelation tells us that Satan was locked up in prison in the Abyss

"Then I saw an angel come down from heaven with the key of the Abyss in his hand and an enormous chain. He overpowered the dragon...Satan, and chained him up for a thousand years." (Rv.20:1-2)

"The angel threw Satan into the Abyss, and shut the entrance and sealed it over him to make sure he would not deceive the nations again until the thousand years had passed. At the end of that time he must be released, but only for a short while." (Rev.20:3)

The thousand years of Satan's imprisonment coincides with the millenium of Christ's rule on earth. It is the age of the Church and is the reason why church-rule was possible in Satan's world during the past 2000 years.

"When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive all the nations in the four quarters of the earth Cog and Magog, and mobilise them for war. His armies will be as many as the sands of the sea; ·they will come swarming over the entire country and besiege the camp of the saints, which is the city that God loves. But fire will come down on them from heaven and consume them. ·Then the devil, who misled them, will be thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet are, and their torture will not stop, day or night, for ever and ever." (Rev.20:7-10).

The date of Satan's release is not known, but there can be little question he is back in the world now. The Church is under assault, world wars have rocked the globe and a mysterious anger has gripped the populations. Satan's return is synonymous with the tribulation. He is the one who is agitating the world to the violence scripture has predicted for these times. His appearance is the signal. God is about to terminate Babylon and wipe the wicked off the earth forever.

"After this, I saw another angel come down from heaven, with great authority given to him; the earth was lit up with his glory. At the top of his voice he shouted, 'Babylon has fallen, Babylon the Great has fallen, and has become the haunt of devils and a lodging for every foul spirit...all the nations have been intoxicated by the wine of her prostitution; every king on earth has committed fornication with her, and every merchant grown rich through her debauchery'." (Rv.18:1-3).

"There will be mourning and weeping for her by the kings of the earth who have fornicated with her and lived with her in luxury. They see the smoke as she burns, while they keep at a safe distance from fear of her agony. They will say: 'Mourn, mourn for this great city, Babylon, so powerful a city, doomed as you are within a single hour'." (Rv.18:9-10).

"All the captains and seafaring men, sailors and all those who make a living from the sea will be keeping a safe distance, watching the smoke as she burns, and crying out, 'Has there ever been a city as great as this!'" (Rv.18:17-18).

"A new voice spoke from heaven; I heard it say, 'Come out, my people, away from her so that you do not share in her crimes and have the same plagues to bear. (Rv.18:4-5).

The people who choose God are going to be protected. Those who pray will be made secure by a wall of faith. Though times will be hard, those who wrap themselves in God's power; in faith and prayer, the Lord will lead to the safety He has promised.

But the pagan world's sentence is going to be very severe.

According to scripture, the consequences of Babylon's condemnation and Satan's return shall be marked with signs of catastrophe throughout the world. There will be earthquakes and tidal waves and flaming debris from the skies. Famine, pestilence and disease will become rampant. The Book of Revelation reveals that the times of magnificence and ease have come to an end and will never come again; there will be immense poverty.

A great mourning will spread across the land -- the dirge for pagan Babylon.

"Earth trembles at the sound of the capture of Babylon, the dirge for her is heard throughout the nations." (Jer.50:46).

The Bible says that God's power to protect us from harm comes entirely from prayer. But in this country, prayer is missing; our leaders ordered it removed from public life. Those who complied with this order were very thorough. (see footnote)

By ordering prayer taken away, the government has left itself helpless in the face of its enemies. Banning prayer, our governing officials have torn down the spiritual wall of defense that once protected this people and this nation from harm. The result has been catastrophic.

This paper is a chronicle of the consequences of that disaster.


THE TWO TOWERS OF BABYLON
The attack on the towers of New York is the handwriting on the wall of Babylon.

"Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared, and began to write on the plaster of the palace wall, directly behind the lamp-stand; and the king could see the hand as it wrote. The king turned pale with alarm: his thigh-joints went slack and his knees began to knock." (Dn.5:5-6).

He sent for Daniel, the only sage in his kingdom who could read the words. Daniel told him:

"The writing reads: 'Mene, Mene, Tekel and Parsin,' The meaning of the words is this: Mene: God has measured your sovereignty and put an end to it; Tekel: you have been weighed in the balance and found wanting; Parsin: your kingdom has been divided and given to the Medes and the Persians." (Dn.5:25-28).

That same night, the Babylonian king was murdered, and Darius the Mede received the kingdom.

The United States is the wall of Babylon. It is the military force that guards the western world from attack. In a single hour this defense was penetrated, the city was set on fire, its towers crashing to the ground in clouds of dust that rolled out to the sea. The smoke of its burning was seen from one end of the earth to the other. World traders blanched white at the agony of the loss. They were filled with disbelief. Who would have believed such a thing could ever happen.

In vain the sentry's had watched.

The fingers of a human hand has appeared, and the message they have inscribed is clear: the day for Babylon's grief has arrived. The end is near. The king will be murdered. The guardian will fall and the western world will be given over to the Persians.

In the Book of Revelation almost two pages are devoted to the attack on Babylon. This astonishing dedication of space (including the entire 18th chapter of that book) guarantees an overwhelming importance to this event; the words themselves speak to the complete destruction of pagan Babylon.

The words focus on one city -- on one attack. But they describe an event that is to encompass all of the world in an unfolding process. One side of the world will mobilize to destroy the other. It is east versus west. We have already shown that Babylon is synonomous with the western world that lives outside of Christ.

The False Prophet is whipping up the east into a frenzy that will bring both itself and the pagans of the western world to catastrophe and utter ruin. God has determined that this shall happen. That disaster began in New York, but it will extend everywhere.

New York is more than just a city in the western world, it is the financial capitol of the world. Dedicated to mammon, and home to the United Nations, it symbolizes one of the highest towers of paganism -- a true capitol city of Babylon.

It is the financial hub of the whole pagan world.

Scripture shows that there is a spiritual dichotomy between God and money. No one, Jesus revealed, can love them both. It is either one or the other.

The classic capitol of pagan Babylon is Rome. That is the city implicated by scripture as the symbolic capitol of the pagan world. That is the city the Apostles viewed as the fulfillment of the Bible's prophecies in this regard. Thus it symbolizes the highest tower of paganism in the world.

Throughout the millenium, Christianity ruled Rome. Babylon lay mortally wounded, impotent. That is the physical meaning of the mortal wound, the death of secularism. Rome was made subservient to Christ's Church.

But the Great Revolt which is now in progress in the world has seen Rome separate from the Church (the first official separation of church and state in the world). The coming darkness will return Rome to paganism completely.

The attack on New York shows that Babylon has two towers, not just one. That means it has two capitol cities. The Book of Revelation had already shown us one of them. Now we know the second, the capitol city of mammon.

One is economic, the other symbolic. The planes of the terrorists toppled both towers. So both capitols will fall. And here the symbolism will hold true again; the one struck first will fall last.

BABYLON AND KITTIM
The events of September 11th seem to have shown New York and Babylon to be symbolic soul-mates, locked together in an unholy alliance for all time.

Yet when we look closely at the symbolism of the planes involved, a clearer definition emerges. The plan of attack differed significantly from its results. The results proved catastrophic to Wall Street, but not to the democracy. The capitol building was spared by the courage of its citizens. Heavily damaged, however, though not destroyed, was the source of the wall itself, the military headquarters of the United States.

Even though the United States is a part of Babylon (a part of the western world) the effects of the attack suggests a difference between Babylon and the people's government here.

What came down in flames were the commercial and financial interests of New York and the world community, not a government founded in, or by, or of the people. Planes headed for the institutions which represent those ideals failed completely.

One was felled by the power of the people within it. Another was diverted to land, thwarting its hijacking completely. A third, crashed into the Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. war machine, but the building that symbolized the United States military was so well built the plane failed to penetrate it deeply. The building survived, damaged but intact.

It was only against the city of New York and specifically the financial interests centered there that the attacks proved devastating and terrible beyond words. There, truly catastrophic damage occurred. The full fury of destruction. Not just the trade towers, but all the financial buildings surrounding them were destroyed. The scene of the ruin superimposed across the world's most prosperous city-scape was surreal and without rival. It's scope, beyond imagining. The chaos inconceivable.

Therein stands the image of the 'tower' of Babylon in whose fall God has imaged His coming purpose. The target leveled by the Destroyer was mammon itself. And the message it sent was from God. The end of Babylon is at hand. The millenium is over.

It is hard to separate the city of New York from the Wall Street contained within it. Speaking of the United States, George Will said that it is "neuroligically wired to the stock market". Perhaps that is true. Certainly it is true of New York, a city deeply ensconsed in the glitz and opulence of luxury's culture.

This obsession with wealth testifies to a society once dedicated to the well-being of its people somehow hijacked by the selfish interests of unbridled capitalism where morality itself is measured in stock values. The poor of the world have been devastated by the runaway greed that emanates from this unholy community. It has been built on their backs.

Consider the toxic wastes, the rape of the environment, the institution of pornography, judgment and the lawyers, the witholding of medicines and healthcare from the people, the poor and the aged, the price gouging and the usury. Sin on sin, corporation after corporation, the list seems endless. . The reason is always the same: the bottom line.

Never has there been a celebration of God on Wall Street. Outside of curses, not a reference to the Creator of life has ever been heard in its halls. There, money is god. All creation to them is financial. Nothing is there for the needy or the poor.

A markedly different response rose from the people of the country after the attacks, however. From out of the flags, riding a wave of prayer, came the sound of singing; praising God. The whole country, united as one in worship, singing songs of deliverance and faith. Wrapped in the spirit of God, they opened their hearts and savings without thought to recompense to do something Wall Street had never done, helping those who were afflicted.

A great dichotomy of purpose in the United States was made visible in that outpouring. The dreams of those who had hijacked our society lay buried in the rubble of the collapsed towers. But faith had saved the country. Gone was the glitz and the triviality of extravagence. Buried in the rubble of New York was the hedonism -- the opulence and unmitigated greed of a culture made irrelevant in one hour of time. A new society rose out of the ashes. The country returned to its foundation.

This is the other side to the terror of the message on the wall. God is rescuing His people, not destroying them. All who have faith in Him will be protected. The end of Babylon will prove the salvation of God's chosen.

If the outpouring of faith continues, the walls of God's defense will rise again. The beast will not capture our shores. He will be beaten back and forced to flee across the sea to his own shores.

This disparity between faith and lucre attests to the difference between Kittim and Babylon. Both are the same, but they differ markedly from one another. 'Kittim' and 'Babylon' are names that come from prophecy. Both describe the western world, but Kittim is special. It is a country filled with faith in God.

That is why it is written in scripture that America will still be worshipping the Lord when the end comes. Even the predictions of the sign of the sudden fiery end to Babylon, the handwriting of the twin towers, define that faith:

On every high mountain and upon every high hill, there will be streams and watercourses, on the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall" (Is.30:25)

The "streams and watercouses" stand for the living water that pours out from the breast of Christ as it issues from the churches which dot the hills and mountains of the United States. The plug has been pulled, but the preaching continues. Isaiah has confirmed this:

"...and so it will be on earth, among the peoples, as at the beating of the olive trees, as at the gleaning of the grapes when the grape harvest is over. They lift up their voices, singing for joy; they acclaim the majesty of God from the sea. Therefore in the islands they give glory to the Lord, in the islands of the sea, to the name of the Lord, the God of Israel. From remotest earth we hear songs, 'Honor to the upright one'. But 'Enough, enough!' I say. 'Woe to the traitors who betray, to the traitors who treacherously betray!' Terror, the pit, the snare for you, inhabitants of the earth..." (Is.24:10-17).

This shows the invisible border that separates the people of God from the rest of Babylon. It is a border of faith.

SONGS OF DELIVERANCE AND JOY
"God has brought low those who lived high up in the steep citadel; he brings it down, brings it down to the ground, flings it down in the dust: the feet of the lowly, the footseps of the poor trample on it." (Is.26:5-6).

"For you have made the town a heap of stones, the fortified city a ruin. The citadel of the proud is a city no longer, it will never be rebuilt." (Is.25:2).

"From that day on a mighty people gives you glory, the city of the nations without pity holds you in awe; for you are a refuge for the poor, a refuge for the needy in distress, a shelter from the storm, a shade from the heat..." (Is.25:3-5).

Isaiah reveals that on the day God heals His people and seals Babylon's condemnation -- on the day He stands up and says "Enough!" -- on that day, too, there will be voices across the sea and in the islands praising the name of the Lord.

We are witnesses to the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. That praise and prayer could be heard by the whole world as it rose up from the people in a spontaneous chorus of voices that towered far above the smoke rising out of New York. Isaiah's words came true before our eyes. Not only that, we were a part of it!

It was an outpouring of faith that sounded both on earth and in heaven, simultaneously:

"After this I seemed to hear the great sound of a huge crowd in heaven, singing, 'Alleluia! Victory and glory and power to our God!" (Rv.19:1-2).

"Then moonlight will be as bright as sunlight and sunlight itself be seven times brighter -- like the light of seven days in one -- on the day God dresses the wound of his people and heals the bruises his blows have left." (Is.30:24).

In heaven there will be jubilation and celebration:

"Now heaven, celebrate her downfall, and all you saints, apostles and prophets: God has given judgment for you against her. Then a powerful angel picked up a boulder like a great millstone, and as he hurled it into the sea, he said, 'That is how the great city of babylon is going to be hurled down, never to be seen again'." (Rev.18:20-21).

THE RISE OF THE EAST
"The people of Israel are to serve the king of Babylon until the king of Persia comes to power." (2 Chron.36:21).

Daniel's interpretation of the writing on Babylon's wall shows that the kingdom which God has sent to destroy Babylon forever will consist of an eastern world divided between the Medes and the Persians. The troubles of the end will arrive in concert with the Medes. As the power of the east grows, its minions will rise to become the scourge of the pagan world. The final end will come at the hand of Persia, who will burn it in a single hour.

"Sharpen the arrows, fill the quivers! God has roused the spirit of the king of the Medes, because he has a plan against Babylon to destroy it; this is the vengeance of God, the revenge for his Temple." (Jer.51:11).

The involvement of the east in the catastrophic events of September 11th has been well documented. The prophecy has proved accurate.

"Though you were rich and glorious surrounded by the seas...the east wind has shattered you, surrounded by the seas." (Ez.27:25-26).

"Take up your positions around Babylon...Shout against her on every side! She surrenders, her towers fall, her walls are torn down since this is the vengeance of the Lord..." (Jer.50:15).

Throughout the scriptures Babylon is characterized as a land of pagans, while the east is not, so why the difference?

The difference is 'religion'. The king of the east, the Bible says, will align himself with the people of a "foreign god" -- a god of 'warfare' not known to their ancestors, and worshipped by an eastern people whose prowess in battle will be such that they are able to overcome even the mightiest fortresses. (Dn.11:38-39).

Today we can see how large and important that contingent actually is. Yet, most theologians (muslim or Christian) do not regard Bin Laden as religious or his forces as holy warriors even though they claim that relationship. But the fact is, with their strange god, they have launched a 'jihad', or holy war against the western world.

In that attack, they brought to ruin the economic towers of the mightiest fortress in the the entire world. So the prophecy of Daniel is already true.

In their attack on pagan Babylon, they think they are doing a holy duty for God.

In keeping with Daniel's prophecy, two major eastern forces will come, each in its own time, against the western world. The first will be the Medes. Empowering the rise of this east wind will be a "kingdom of the north" (Ez.39:2). It will arise from nations that seem to be associated with the Black Sea.

Bible prophecy pinpoints the perimeter of the eastern invasion, the Euphrates river. Across that river the hordes of the east will come. It will overrun the western outposts there, and advance all the way into Jerusalem, and from there across Europe and even cross the Atlantic to confront America on its own shores. These forces will be beaten back.

A second eastern nation will replace them. This will be the prince of Persia. He is the one destined to burn Babylon to the ground in a single hour. The greatest horrors this earth has ever know will occur in this hour. And then the end will come. The fires of heaven will rain down and the beast will die, his soldiers all disappear. Christ will return.

The land of the Medes is the ancient homeland of the dreaded Parthians who defeated an entire Roman army just before the time of Christ. This defeat put a fear into Roman hearts that did not go away.

Some years later, when one of the most malignant rulers in the world (the Roman emperor Nero) died, an unsettling prophecy began to circulate throughout his empire that predicted he would rise again from the dead, but in the east, where he would head an immense Parthian army that would carry him back in triumph to rule Rome again in the last days.

When the world finds this "Nero" in the gloom of the coming darkness, the Prince of Persia, then will come the 'Parthian shot', the dying moment, the last gasp of Satan, as God lights the fires of eternity and throws the faithless into them, extinguishing wickedness forever.

WHAT CAN THE VIRTUOUS DO?
"Without fear, I await the day of anguish which is dawning on the people now attacking us." (Habakkuk 3:16).

A ruinous time is coming to Babylon because of sin; that time has already started. Despite the perilous circumstances that lie ahead, those who follow Christ and continue to place their lives in His footsteps, will be saved. His gate has not yet been shut. The path He described in great detail is still open. And it still leads to life.

"There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus." (Phil.4:6-7).

But great care must be exercised by His people from now on. Far more diligence and faith are going to be needed to stay God's course. Faith must be stronger than ever so that Christians do not succumb to the power of delusion that soon will be descending on the world.

God has promised to rescue many of His people from the worst of the tribulation. Certain Protestants have termed this "the Rapture." It will not be for everyone. Daniel shows that Christians will be practicing their faith and teaching others throughout the violence. But the promise remains:

"Because you have kept my commandment to endure trials, I will keep you safe in the time of trial that is going to come for the whole world, to test the people of the world." (Rev.3:10)

Whether we are chosen to go or stay for awhile, Paul said that we must never give in, but bear our troubles joyfully, thanking the Father who has made it possible for us to join the saints, and with them inherit the light.

"He has taken us out of the power of darkness and created a place for us in the kingdom of the Son that he loves, and in him, we gain our freedom, the forgiveness of our sins." (Col.1:13-14).

For the world there will be no light. A blinding veil is coming ­ a darkness of deceit. It is bearing down on the faithless and will confuse and blind all who have refused to listen to Jesus or take heed in His Word. It will lead the whole world astray. With the Great Revolt already in progress, it has already begun. With the handwriting on Babylon's wall behind us, we have entered the days when darkness must increase.

In Christ we have a stong city. It will not collapse as do those that surround us in this world. The Holy Spirit is a wall and rampart around us that makes all the lightning and thunderbolts of the enemy powerless in our presence. That will not change.

Though we appear to die on earth, we will live forever in Christ. The sound of His Voice will transform us from out of this disaster into the peaceful brilliance of the everlasting city in heaven that God has built for us.

"For we know that when the tent that we live in on earth is folded up, there is a house built by God for us, an everlasting home not made by human hands, in the heavens." (2 cor.5:1).

We must hold onto that knowledge. As long as we do, God's peace will never leave us.

"Not long ago, you were foreigners and enemies, in the way tht you used to think and the evil things that you did; but now he has reconciled you, by his death and in that mortal body. Now you are able to appear before him holy, pure and blameless -- as long as you persevere and stand firm on the solid base of the faith, never letting yourselves drift away from the hope promised by the Good News, which you have heard, which has been preached to the whole human race..." (Col.1:21-23).

"Do not give up if trials come; and keep on praying." (Rom.12:12).

There was a long period of tribulation in the early days of the Church, but Christians were able to stand firm in those days. The Church did not fail; it grew. Despite the circumstances, they were able to hold tightly to the promise that was made. As long as Christ is preached, salvation will continue to flow into the world.

It is the world that is changing, not Christ. His offer still holds. Do not harden your heart. Now, more than ever before, we need to hold fast to the call and live by it.

"Indeed, everything that was written long ago in the scriptures was meant to teach us something about hope from the examples scripture gives of how people who did not give up were helped by God." (Rom.15:4).

"You can trust God not to let you be tried beyond your strength, and with any trial he will give you a way out of it and the strength to bear it." (1 Cor.10:13).

Those words were written by Paul during the first tribulation and they hold just as true today.

"Love", he said, "is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes...be happy at all times; pray constantly; and for all things give thanks to God, because this is what God expects you to do in Christ Jesus." (1 Cor.13:7; 1 Thes.5:18).

The images of the Wrath are unsettling. They have been given to mankind by the Holy Spirit to jolt the world out of its complacency, so that the pagans would know that a day of retribution is coming for those who refuse to leave wickedness. Those who trust in God will be saved. Jesus suffered on the cross for our sins, so it is not surprising that we have been called to suffer with Him. He has left an example to follow the way He took.

"He was bearing our faults in his body on the cross, so that we might die to our faults and live for holiness..." (1 Peter 2:24).

"If any one of you must suffer for being a Christian, then he is not to be ashamed of it; he should thank God that he has been called one...so even those whom God allows to suffer must trust themselves to the constancy of the Creator and go on doing good." (1 Peter 4:16-19).

"No one can hurt you if you are determined to do only what is right; if you do have to suffer for being good, You should count it a blessing because you will receive a great reward from God. Do not be afraid of their terror. Simply reverence the Lord Christ in your hearts...because He protects everyone who knows His name." (1 Peter 3:13-16; Ps.91:14).

He has commanded His angels to protect everyone who trusts in Him. See Psalm 91.

The Apostle Peter wrote,

"My dear people, you must not think it unaccountable that you should be tested by fire. Thre is nothing extraordinary in what has happened to you. If you can have some share in the suffereings of Christ, be glad, because you will enjoy a much greater gladness when his glory is revealed. It is a blessing for you when they insult you for bearing the name of Christ, because it means that you have the Spirit of glory, the Spirit of God resting on you." (1 Peter 4:12-15).

Scripture is clear. The reward of faith is a joy and gladness beyond imagining. The judgment of Babylon has brought us to the threshold of the marriage feast of the Lamb. This is not the time to stop gathering the oil for our lamps.

This world is passing away because God is replacing it with something far better -- a new heaven and a new earth (Rv.21:1).

Whatever happens to this body will not matter. God has prepared a new body to house our soul. It is an imperishable body without disease or age. Nothing can ever harm it because it is made in the same substance as the New City of Jerusalem in heaven, the throne of the Lord. There, we will live in His presence forever.

"Never give in then, my dear brothers, never admit defeat; keep on working at the Lord's work always, knowing that, in the Lord, you cannot be laboring in vain." (1 Cor.15:58).

"Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is the Lord. He is like a tree beside the waters that thrusts its root to the stream: it fears not the heat when it comes; its leaves stay green; in the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit." (Jer.17:5-8).